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The underlying problems are energy-related
A few years ago, I analyzed the growth of world energy consumption, breaking it down into (a) the growth in energy consumption needed to support the growth in world population, and (b) the growth in energy consumption available to support higher standards of living. This analysis covered the period 1820 to 2020. I found that periods of low growth tended to coincide with wars, depressions, and collapses. This is not surprising in a world economy governed by the laws of physics. Every part of the economy requires adequate energy of appropriate kinds.
In this post, I analyze data for 5-year periods, ending in 2024, to obtain an updated view of recent energy consumption and population trends. My conclusion is that total energy consumption growth in recent years has not been sufficient to forestall major problems. A more detailed analysis reveals that growth in certain vital resources (the diesel+jet fuel part of oil supply, and critical minerals related to electricity production and usage) is particularly problematic.
These findings indicate that the economy is already beginning to hit energy limits. Because of energy-related shortages that are already being encountered, national economies are beginning to act like the players in a game of musical chairs, with one too few chairs. Leaders have taken to building up armies, cutting off exports of critical minerals, imposing tariffs, and bombing other countries, even though these actions might not make sense to peace-loving citizens.
[1] Figure 2 is a stacked bar chart showing similar indications to Figure 1.
The total of the red and blue segments is the average annual increase in world energy consumption over a particular 10-year period. The blue amounts (usually at the bottom) are those necessary to provide services at the same level as in the past, given the population increase. The red amounts (usually at the top) are determined by subtraction. Large red caps are good, while red caps below the zero line are very bad. They indicate that the per-capita energy supply is declining.
[2] The largest increases in Figure 2 correspond to favorable economic times.
The vertical text in Figure 1 provides examples of how low points in energy consumption have proven to be very bad. In this section, I show that the opposite is also true: High points tend to correspond to very good times economically.
One peak in Figures 1 and 2 coincides with the 1901 to 1910 period. This period corresponds to early electrification and advances in the mechanization of agriculture. It was before 1913 when the United Kingdom hit peak coal, limiting the amount of coal that could be profitably extracted. Germany hit peak hard coal shortly before World War II. After peak coal was reached, less coal was available per capita. Leaders felt the pressure of “not enough coal to go around” and opted for war.
In Figures 1 and 2, rapid energy growth occurred after World War II, during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The lower peak in the 2001-2010 period coincided with much greater use of coal after China was added to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2001. High-wage countries started transferring their industry to China because costs would be lower in two ways: Wage costs were lower, and coal was an inexpensive fuel, reducing energy costs. Furthermore, by transferring industry, including manufacturing and mining, to China, high-wage countries could also lower their own CO2 emissions, as required by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
We would expect the patterns we are seeing in Figures 1 and 2 if the world economy is governed by the laws of physics. The availability of plenty of inexpensive energy, of kinds that match built infrastructure, is what is needed to allow the world economy to grow.
[3] Figure 3 shows more recent world energy data organized by 5-year periods. It shows how small the “red caps” of the types leading to favorable economic outcomes have been in the last decade.
The latest two 5-year periods comprise the years 2015 to 2024. The short red caps on these two 5-year periods mean that the economy is already being squeezed in the direction of not-enough-to go-around.
[4] Viewed on this same basis, diesel and jet fuel supplies are being squeezed even more than the overall supply of energy products.
Diesel and jet fuel are somewhat similar in composition. They are grouped together in some energy reports as “middle distillates.” They are relatively heavy oil products that come out of oil refineries. If there is a shortage of one, there likely is a shortage of the other as well.
Diesel and jet fuel are of concern because, since 2015, there has been an actual shrinkage in the amount of these fuels available relative to population. In fact, every five-year period since the 2000 to 2004 period has shown less growth in diesel and jet fuel than in the overall world energy supply. (Compare Figures 3 and 4.)
The low growth of diesel+jet fuel is particularly concerning because these fuels are essential for international transportation. With too little of these oil types, trade across the Atlantic and Pacific needs to shrink back. The physics of the situation makes tariffs look like an attractive solution for reducing trade.
Another concern is that diesel is essential for food production and transportation. Even if some other types of energy are available in plentiful supply, we cannot get along without food. While wind and solar are popular energy types today, they are not very useful for either international transport or for operating modern agricultural equipment.
[5] The underlying problem is that populations tend to outgrow their resource bases, including energy supplies.
The issue of the world not being able to support endlessly rising human population is an issue that no politician, auto maker, or economist wants to mention. The standard work-around is to show energy supplies without using an adjustment to a per-capita basis. This tends to make the energy situation look much better than it really is. Figure 6 is an example of such a chart.
Figure 6 emphasizes how modest the recent add-ons to the fossil fuel supply really are. These add-ons are made possible by fossil fuels; they would tend to disappear if fossil fuels were to disappear. Nuclear, which is the largest of the add-ons, requires both uranium and fossil fuels. The category “Wind+Solar” is the tiny green stripe at the top of Figure 6. In 2024, Wind+Solar amounted to 2.8% of world energy supply.
[6] It is easy to make electricity look like a growth area that can continue its pattern forever.
Figure 7 is a world electricity chart that, like Figure 6, is not on a per-capita basis.
There are a few details that are easy to miss:
(a) Current electricity production is quite small compared to the total energy supply. As counted by the Energy Institute, electricity amounts to only about 20% of total energy, varying by year and by part of the world. It is already incorporated in Figure 6.
(b) Almost all the non-fossil fuel part of the energy supply (“Add-Ons”) is electricity. In Figure 6, the only type of non-fossil energy shown that is not electricity is biofuels. These are mostly ethanol and biodiesel.
(c) Another detail that is easy to miss is the fact that the growth in the world’s electricity supply, as shown in Figure 7, has been almost exclusively outside the Advanced Economies–that is, members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Advanced Economies group includes the US, most of Europe, Japan, Australia, and several other countries.
Figure 8 shows the growth in electricity generation separately for the Advanced Economies and the Other Economies. The chart shows that generation of electricity by the Advanced Economies grew until 2007 but flattened after that date. Electricity generation by the Other Economies has grown the entire time since 1985. The rate of electricity production growth of Other Economies became noticeably more rapid after China joined the WTO in 2001.
Also, population growth since 1985 has disproportionately taken place in Other Economies, as contrasted with Advanced Economies.
[7] In the Advanced Economies, electricity production has recently been falling on a per capita basis, making a shift to greater electrification seem difficult.
A major issue is that the Advanced Economies are already seeing their electricity supplies per capita declining as shown on Figure 10 below. This is true for all five of the selected economies. Some of the lower consumption is due to efficiency improvements, but some is the result of the offshoring of jobs and industries to low-wage countries.
In comparison, electricity production per capita of other economies, with typically lower wages than Advanced Economies and often accompanied by more rapid population growth, has tended to rise, as shown on Figure 11.
The four “Other Economies” are less similar to each other than the five Advanced Economies. But what is striking is that they all have shown growth in per-capita electricity production since 1999. In 2024, Saudi Arabia’s electricity production had risen to about the per-capita level of the US’s electricity production. By 2024, China’s per-capita electricity production had surpassed that of both the EU and the UK. Russia was part of the Soviet Union before the latter collapsed in 1991. Once Russia’s economy had started recovering from the collapse, about 1999, its per-capita electricity production also began to rise.
[8] Other issues are also making a continued shift to electrification appear difficult, particularly for the Advanced Economies.
Trying to work around using fossil fuels leads to the need for more specialized minerals to produce high tech electrical goods and electricity transmission. The problem faced by Advanced Economies is that they produce practically none of these minerals; they must import them. The US has a long list of minerals it considers critical.
Some of these minerals aren’t rare in the earth’s crust. Part of the problem is the lack of industrial capacity in Advanced Economies today, as industry has been moved overseas to reduce costs and local CO2 emissions. For example, the US used to be a major producer of aluminum, but this production has dwindled; other countries, including China, can produce aluminum at lower cost.
Another issue is that China produces the majority of quite a few of these minerals. The US, and probably the other Advanced Economies, had planned to buy what they needed on the world market. Now, production is not keeping up with the amount the world could easily use. In 2025, China announced export restrictions on some minerals, including gallium, germanium and antimony. It has become clear that if Advanced Economies want to have adequate supplies of high-demand minerals (including silver, copper, platinum, rare earth minerals, and uranium, among others), they need to start producing them themselves.
Diesel is used in extracting many of these minerals. If diesel is in short supply, that adds another layer of problems. All these issues may lie behind President Trump’s interest in Greenland.
[9] We don’t hear about these issues partly because academic researchers live in ivory towers, and partly because politicians don’t dare explain the issues to voters.
Part of the problem is that economists don’t understand how tightly the various parts of the world economy are interconnected through the laws of physics. Economists tend to believe that if there is a shortage, prices will rise, and these higher prices will solve nearly all problems. This is not necessarily the case. Buyers cannot purchase more than they can afford. Prices may spike temporarily and then fall back. Production of fossil fuels or minerals may end because prices do not rise high enough, for long enough, for producers to depend upon the higher prices for the long term.
In the case of a shortage, most people assume that the only change the economy will make is in prices. However, the economy is tightly interconnected. It can move production to a different part of the world, where wages and energy costs are lower. An indirect result, in the country losing jobs, may be more wage and wealth disparity. The US seems to be experiencing this issue now, with fewer young people being able to find a job that pays well.
Needless to say, politicians aren’t willing to admit, “We have difficulties for which we can see no solution.” Even leaders of universities are reluctant to suggest that there might be major problems ahead. They don’t want to frighten students or their parents. University officials want all problems to be ones their students can work on, with the hope of solving them in the next few years.
[10] What is happening now is similar to the outcome of a game of musical chairs, when there is one fewer chair than the number of players.
In the game of musical chairs, players walk around a group of chairs until the music stops. At the end of each round, one chair is removed, leaving one fewer chair than the number of players. In the next round, the remaining players all scramble for the chairs available, which often leads to small fights over who gets a chair. This not-enough-to-go-around problem explains the poor relations we see today among countries and political parties. It is also the underlying reason for the interest in imposing tariffs and in bombing other countries.
Financial markets tend to perform well during periods of economic growth. However, if certain kinds of essential resources are in short supply, this will tend to hold back growth. Debt defaults and falling stock markets could result. For these reasons, problems in financial markets may be ahead.
Major governmental changes may be ahead. Representative governments require more energy than simpler types of organizations, such as dictatorships. Furthermore, citizens do not like disorder; they may want to overthrow leaders who seem to allow too much disorder. They may vote them out of office or even try to assassinate them. The problem of resource inadequacy is structural, however. Getting rid of a particular leader doesn’t necessarily help the situation.
Everywhere in the world, at least part of today’s problem is that there are not enough jobs available that pay well. Economists have told us to expect high prices if there are shortages. In a way, not having enough jobs that pay well is the opposite problem. But from a physics standpoint, the result is the same. Only a few people can afford many of the goods that are available. The economists’ misinterpretation of what is going wrong further confuses people’s understanding of our current situation.
Mainstream media needs to cater to advertisers. Because of this issue, we cannot expect them to tell us what is happening. That task seems to fall to bloggers, like me. I try to write an article approximately every month. I hope that the graphs and other figures I have presented in this article will help readers understand why we are currently seeing more types of disruptions, such as tariffs and bombings.
As I have said before, this Persian gulf conflict will induce the effect which is not dissimilar to the Ireland Famine of 1845-52.
There will be a 10% decline of food production, at least , in this year because of fertilizer shortages, so a decline of 10% of world pop is now certain.
However, just like the Irish famine where the people at Dublin did not feel a thing, it will probably not affect those in the Core a bit.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson traveled Ireland around that time. He had a special carriage which only showed the scenery above human height, so he would not have to see any misery of the people.
That will be a favorite tour style of the Core, mocking the locals who will perish woult a noise.
Irish was finished as a language. Now the total number of native Irish speakers is zero for all practical purposes, and Ireland’s greatest poet is William Butler Yeats, who had zero Irish genes whatsoever, never learnt Irish and none of his progeny living in there.
USA and its allies produce enough fossil fuels to support themselves. Of course they will be expensive, so a lot of the poor will be in bad shape, but the elites will not care.
Basically this entire exercise will benefit the top 10% on the expense of the rest. a more efficient allocation of resources.
tl. dr. at least a billion people will perish this year, but virtually none of the Core will feel a thing.
Do you expect those poor (and very hungry) people to burn down their local CVSes, Walreens, SaveALots and also loot the Air Jordans (of fitting sizes)?
Did Trump slip up? He said that the UK would to find its on oil . Is he admitting that the U.S is going to see decline of the fracking industry 2027 2028?
Unless of course if you believe Art Berman who believes that the u.s has tons of untapped oil but he is an egomaniac too
Shipping oil (and goods made using oil) across the Atlantic no longer makes sense. The UK needs oil that is extracted closer to home.
Duran did in recent days short program ( noticing / personal visit ) of ~y/y rapid deterioration across 2nd tier agglomerations inside the UK: closed shops, services, .. ; energy price levels ~2x over the continent and NO stockpiles etc. The rapture into ~3rd world status conditions ( regions at least ) is getting near ( in our lifetimes ).
The UAE will increase fuel prices between 30% and 72% due to the war
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Tuesday that it will increase fuel prices in the country by between 30% and 72% starting Wednesday, due to the volatility of the energy market and changing oil trends amid the war initiated by the United States and Israel in Iran.
Diesel stands out in this increase, with a jump of 72.4% compared to March, given that the price per liter in April will be 4.69 Emirati dirhams (1.28 dollars) compared to 2.72 dirhams (0.74 dollars) the previous month, according to the new prices announced by the fuel distribution companies and approved by the UAE Price Control Committee.
Meanwhile, Super 95 gasoline—the most popular choice in the Persian Gulf country—rose 32.3% month-over-month, from 2.48 to 3.28 dirhams (US$0.68 to US$0.89). 98-octane gasoline saw the smallest increase (30.9%), rising from 2.59 dirhams (US$0.71) to 3.39 dirhams (US$0.92). Finally, 91-octane gasoline increased by 33.3%, from 2.40 to 3.20 dirhams (US$0.65 to US$0.87), according to the list. EFE reports.
I note that these are high prices for the Middle East, several times more than In Saudi A. . The UAE used to have 0% corporate taxes, then they figured that 9% was more appropriate for their funding needs. Perhaps the fuel prices were a tax also.
For a long time, Middle Eastern countries have charged their local customers a price for oil which is hardly more than the lifting cost for getting the oil out of the ground. This lifting cost has been increasing over time, so it should rise.
Middle Eastern countries try to collect taxes to operate their countries by high taxes on the oil they sell outside their countries. They have been hampered in this effort since mid-2014, when world oil prices started to fall, and have remained lower. The one partial exception was 2022, when the Ukraine war started, and oil prices spiked.
At the new higher prices UAE is charing, I note that the oil prices of the UAE are still quite low. This allows fairly poor people to drive vehicles. The UAE is a relatively small country. It is hard to believe that residents there drive very long distances.
Well, the Gulfies also run ~state investment funds, which are into variou$ global MNCs, obviously the proceeds ( %dividends ) from such can’t match the volume obtained from taxation of the hydrocarbons they are selling. Although there are some tiny exceptions as well but these are mostly tax heavens shop entities anyway, not primarily into exporting oil/gas.
Breaking News
Mehr News Agency, citing the IRGC Navy:
We targeted a secret site hosting 200 US commanders and officers in the UAE
US bases in the region are no longer safe for enemy commanders, and their presence in secret sites is under threat
Intelligence identified the US army’s secret command center outside Minhad base in the UAE, and it was targeted and destroyed
According to our information, there were approximately 200 US officers or commanders in this center before the strike
https://english.almayadeen.net/shortnews
DeepSeek at work?
Iran is perhaps pointing its ability to find enemy (US) commanders, even in places they consider secret.
” RAND estimated that 78 percent of US defence contractors would face production shutdowns within 90 days of a Chinese rare earth cutoff. The 2027 deadline to ban Chinese-sourced magnets from Pentagon procurement is nine months away with no domestic alternative at scale. MP Materials operates the only US rare earth mine and ships its concentrate to China for processing. ” ?
https://x.com/shanaka86/status/2038868023314976864?s=20
”The same Strait of Hormuz that carries 20 percent of the world’s oil also carries the helium that cools the machines that make the chips that power the artificial intelligence that the Pentagon is using to prosecute Operation Epic Fury. Maven, the AI targeting system that compressed 2,000 analysts to 20 and selected over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, runs on processors manufactured by TSMC using helium sourced from Qatar. Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility, which produced 33 percent of the world’s helium as a byproduct of LNG processing, was struck by Iranian missiles on March 18 and 19 and declared force majeure. The supply is offline. The containers are stranded. The clock is ticking at minus 269 degrees. . , ,
Every week the strait stays shut brings the fab closer to rationing. Every month of war brings the AI targeting system closer to the moment when the chips it runs on cannot be replaced because the gas that made them evaporated in a container floating off Fujairah.
The Pentagon is fighting a war with artificial intelligence manufactured in Taiwan using helium from Qatar transported through the strait the war has closed. The war is eating its own brain. ” ?
https://x.com/shanaka86/status/2038851105845805099?s=20
AI cannot continue its growth without helium supplies.
Has China not cut it off yet?
Even that US domestics in need of processing their concentrated ore in CHN is hilarious story, thanks [ postkey ]
The US has a similar problem with uranium. Not only do we not have uranium locally, we cannot upgrade this uranium to the concentration needed to power nuclear power plants, with current equipment.
From the link:
The US military has consumed more precision weapons in one month than it can manufacture in three years, using materials it can only source from the country [China] it may need to fight next.
Does this sound like a problem?
Slovaks are dying or moving abroad. The birth rate is at its lowest in a century
In 2025, fewer children were born than during World War II.
https://www.sme.sk/domov/c/slovaci-umieraju-alebo-odchadzaju-do-cudziny-vlani-sa-narodilo-najmenej-deti-za-sto-rokov
It is well known that when people in a country are treated well they start making babies. When their condition is poor they do move abroad and/or stop making babies. that EU thing did not work well for Slovakia evidently.
Apply these athletic neurons for the win, one could wonder where that down facing mega trend originated or picked up rolling stones (pun intended) speed ? Uhm, perhaps [ Nov-89 ] ring bells ? From mostly ~agricultural and rudimentary toolshop settings into truly mixed industrial realm in few post WWII decades. Why, who, how and on what material basis accomplished that..
PS But it was [ a sin !] after-all, as Vatican-boyz told you, right hah?
Tankers Carrying Diesel Toward Europe Change Course in Atlantic.
https://archive.md/t9KxX#selection-1181.0-1181.63
Minerva Vaso is heading to Durban. It would be so interesting to know what the premium is to get these ships to change course.
Russian oil tanker has landed in Cuba
Behind a FT paywall so all I can get is the headline.
UK to receive last tanker of jet fuel from Middle East this week
the same story is on the uk daily mail, which you can read for free
Here we go. From behind the paywall. Good article
https://archive.is/20260330220751/https://www.ft.com/content/19f155b1-8b12-491a-bbc5-a3bdb2a2e607
This article says:
The last known shipment of jet fuel to the UK from the Middle East is expected to arrive this week, pointing to the fast-approaching impact of the Iran war on airlines and travellers.
As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I are booked on a vacation cruise that flies into Bergen, Norway, in late May and returns from London on June 6. Whether this actually happens is, at this point, up in the air. A person would hope that travelers would not end up permanently in the UK.
I would presume that the oil price being paid in these alternate locations is much higher than Europe is able to bit. This is what would cause ships to change course and deliver their oil elsewhere.
A single uniform oil price, worldwide, at a relatively low price, seems to be disappearing.
I let ChatGPT analyze the novella Ťapákovci by a Slovak woman writer Božena Slančíková-Timrava, a daughter of a Lutheran pastor, which is one of the key literary works taught at Slovak schools. It was published in the time when WW1 started. I asked ChatGPT to use the views of ourfiniteworld.com for its analysis:
Ťapákovci was published in 1914, exactly on the threshold of the war that began on 28 July 1914. That matters because the novella is not simply a moral satire about laziness; it is a text written inside a collapsing imperial world, where rural households were already under demographic pressure and would soon be hit by wartime scarcity. The Slovak Literary Centre dates the work to 1914, and Britannica places the outbreak of World War I in that same year.
Read through a “limits to growth” lens, the Ťapákovci household looks like a finite subsistence system rather than a static moral allegory. The crucial point is that the family does not have an open frontier of land, capital, or labor. In the late Habsburg period, however, population was rising quickly: between 1860 and 1900 the population of Cisleithania increased by 7 million and Hungary by 5 million, and in the decade from 1900 to 1910 it rose by almost 12 percent in both halves of the empire. That means more people were being supported by a constrained agrarian base, so per-capita access to land, food, and energy was under pressure even before the war intensified those constraints.
That historical background changes the meaning of “stagnation.” In the novella, what later Slovak criticism calls ťapákovčina becomes a synonym for rigidity, backwardness, and immobility. But from a material point of view, this rigidity is not floating in the abstract: it is the social form of scarcity. If a household has only a small stock of land left, then “growth” is not a neutral ideal; it risks immediate overextension. In that sense, the Ťapákovci are not merely unwilling to change. They are also trapped in a way of life that has very little reserve capacity for investment, reorganization, or expansion.
The First World War sharpens this logic dramatically. Wartime Austria-Hungary experienced a worsening food situation: food became a scarce and decisive resource, agricultural production deteriorated, and the shortage reflected both lower supply and unequal distribution. The war also removed men and horses from farm work, reduced fertilizer imports, and pushed output down; in Austria-Hungary agricultural GDP fell sharply between 1913 and 1917, while crop yields and livestock numbers also declined. So if the Ťapákovci world is already a low-margin subsistence system, WWI represents the moment when the wider imperial economy starts behaving exactly like a collapsing resource system: less labor, less fertilizer, less food, less slack.
That is why the family’s inability to “grow” should be read less as a psychological flaw than as a sign of carrying-capacity pressure. If they already have only a narrow agricultural base, then every additional mouth, every wasted effort, and every bad adaptation matters more. In that context, the family’s inertia is not only cultural conservatism; it is also a survival strategy that has become obsolete. They keep reproducing the same household structure even though the material conditions that once made that structure tolerable are weakening. The result is a closed loop: scarcity encourages conservatism, conservatism prevents restructuring, and the lack of restructuring deepens scarcity. This is exactly the kind of feedback logic that a limits-to-growth reading makes visible.
Iľa, then, is not just the “modern” character in a moral opposition. She is the figure who senses that the household needs reorganization, not merely endurance. Her conflict with the rest of the family can be read as a clash between two models of survival: one model tries to preserve an exhausted order, the other tries to adapt before the margin disappears completely. The tragedy is that the older order has already consumed too much of its own future. In that sense, Timrava’s novella is strikingly modern: it shows a rural microcosm living on the edge of finite resources, just before the larger historical system around it enters war, shortages, and intensified demographic stress.
In one sentence: Ťapákovci is not only a story about sloth; it is a story about a household locked inside material limits, written at the moment when the Austro-Hungarian world itself was moving from growth into scarcity.
This AI write-up is very good.
The one sentence summary is
“Ťapákovci is not only a story about sloth; it is a story about a household locked inside material limits, written at the moment when the Austro-Hungarian world itself was moving from growth into scarcity.”
Today, the world is living on the edge of its resources. The world needs to reorganize, but it can’t. The story is strikingly relevant.
Yes! Sound just like today in the US.
The Italian pension system illustrates a typical European problem that Slovakia also faces
A retiree pays for groceries, medication, utilities, and transportation, and still has more than half of their monthly income left over. This is the common reality created by the Italian pension system. On average, retirees receive more than 1,200 euros per month in net payments from the state. According to Moorepay’s calculations, this income covers about 210 percent of the cost of living, which in Italy is around €570 per month. Rent was not included in this calculation.
In practice, this means that after covering basic needs, an Italian retiree can afford a significantly higher standard of living, such as regular restaurant visits, leisure activities, traveling around the country, or saving money.
However, this generosity of the system is not the result of the country’s current economic performance, but rather the consequence of long-term political decisions. For years, Italy has structured its old-age pensions to protect the older generation, often at the expense of public finances and younger workers. This creates significant pressure on the budget and disrupts the intergenerational balance. The parallel with developments in Slovakia and other European countries that are postponing fundamental reforms of their pension systems is no coincidence.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
https://www.trend.sk/ekonomika/vysoky-dochodok-nerastie-na-olivovnikoch-dolce-vita-ide-na-dlh?itm_modul=react_trend_topbox&itm_brand=trend&itm_template=hp&itm_position=1&itm_cb_position=top_main_1
Older people vote in large numbers. This is what keeps pensions high.
Back before fossil fuels, everyone worked as long as they were physically able to. Somehow, as fossil fuels leave us, the system has to transition back to a system where everyone works as long as they can. How this happens is unclear.
One approach would be a change in government such that the new government offers very little or no pensions.
“they’re not going to restrict driving. it’s not possible. They’re going to force you to pay 8 dollars a gallon to drive 30 miles back and forth to work each day and if you can’t tough shit.”
https://x.com/gina_scooter/status/2038797390174396531
inevitable irreversible degrowth caused by the declining flow of surplus energy through IC means that the affordability of modern living by the average person MUST decline for the rest of this century.
the degrowth process will probably be gradual and slow, but surely there will be random years where there is a more significant step down.
2026 appears to be one such year.
the degrowth process MUST affect people in negative ways, and this will probably happen largely in the common way of moderate inflation.
que sera sera.
David its hard to take you seriously with such a childish handle. And you sound like Kulm (arguing with yourself).
uk already pays £8 or close, a gallon
driving will restrict itself as the price of fuel goes up and wages don’t rise pro rata.
ive just skipped to an electric car—but that just sorts my problem out for a while, by halving my fuel costs—my grocery store sill gets filled by diesel trucks…
Norman, you don’t have to answer that Q:, but how would you estimate your ( EV / car ) errands per week in terms of applied / needed destination list. Is it %mostly weighted towards shopping and various short appointment errands ( pharmacy, post office, ..) only or does it also incl. long-ish trips say into park on the other end of the city, family etc.. ?
my longest round trip these days is about 50 miles—and has been for a long time….i last did a 400m round trip 2 years ago, at my age, i dont do 1000 m vacation jaunts any more, i havent flown anywhere since 2019—cant face airports these days.
ev has a range of 200m if i drive easy—which i do. ,i top it up every few days, just plug it in—simple, lots of charge points around these days if i need a quick charge away from home. A really smooth quiet ride….
i am lucky to be able to switch over, a lot of people cant do that….neither does it take away the reality of diesel trucks delivering my food, and tractors producing it.
Trump tells his aides that he is open to the idea of ending the war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Then again this is the same person who claims to have cut a business deal with someone who’s been dead for 3 years.
It appears that Iran has finally used up its last missile and they made it count. They hit a fully laden oil tanker at the Dubai port.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-cites-progress-dealing-more-reasonable-regime-while-mulling-ground-operation
Yea!!! The war is over!!! ……wait a minute ….is this the same dipshit that told us the war was over about 5 times and then continued bombing???
Nyet. Trump is told to say something at as given time. Stock options are purchased or shorts created. Trump says that something. Profit!
the gayhating womenoppressing IslamicRetardedGuard goes full reeetard and hits an oil tanker.
oh well, they are probably going to shooot a few things daily.
meanwhile retardedTrump goes blah blah blah blah.
Yup a match made in heaven! 🫶
I will say trump looks really rough.
I bet the leader of the IslamicRetardGuard deathcullt probably looks kinda rough also, especially if the rumors are true that the Ayeattolah lost his legs on 2/28.
David, I know you and others are worried that Iranian women are not whores enough. I was there and I can guarantee that they are in fact fairly well developed in that regard. so worry not.
Trump is starting to resemble Yeltsin, but without the ability to blame the vodka
https://x.com/Glenn_Diesen/status/2038755206976978995
“Iran has finally used up its last missile and they made it count. They hit a fully laden oil tanker at the Dubai port”
Fireworks are nice, especially when it’s UAE on the receiving end, but the hit that really counted(probably caused Trump’s admittance about the dead), with information supplied almost certainly by local citizens on the ground was this
“the IRGC Navy, in a combined operation, succeeded in destroying a cover command-and-control center of American terrorist commanders, which had been established outside Al Minhad air base in one of the cities of the United Arab Emirates, using precision-guided missiles. More than 200 American commanders and mid-ranking officers were present at this cover center, the statement said.
In another combined operation, the hideout of commanders of the US Fifth Fleet, located outside their main barracks in Bahrain, was also precisely targeted by drones during a commanders’ meeting, the IRGC added, noting that the presence and traffic of ambulances indicated the outcome of the operation.”
https://www.tasnimnews.ir/en/news/2026/03/31/3553197/irgc-strikes-us-command-centers
One Vengeance for all victims(US victims are the most mentioned)
https://youtu.be/AUMpDFGlXt4?si=6sCwBvFsyKBRaA06
When you say, last missile, that’s apart from the ones that they are saving for the women and gays, surely?
Iran is headed for a complete chokehold over Gulf oil with pipeline alternatives to the Strait shut down. This is going to be massively damaging to the world’s economies, worse than the 1970s oil crises.
Analysts warned that this would happen before Israel/ USA recklessly attacked Iran. What on earth has Trump done. He is a massive problem for the entire world now, and the world needs to recalibrate.
> BREAKING
Iran has targeted Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline
The United Arab Emirates can no longer bypass the Strait of Hormuz
Only Saudi’s East-West Pipeline remains active
https://x.com/IranObserver0/status/2038600373045174377
One thing after another!
i guess this is the natural evolution of a dissipative system a reshuffling of the cards who will win islam or christianity perhaps all religion will be gone and replaced with Ai , humans have failed in the running of the world, god has failed the rise of Ai is coming.
David with many names will not be satisfied until the Knesset building is destroyed by Iranian missiles.
the gayhating womenoppressing IslamicRetardedGuard probably could do that.
they still have some more missssilies left.
personally, I hope this will end this week.
I hope so too.
Perhaps then we can get back to obsessing over why there have been absolutely no arrests of the baby-eating, child-raping, sex-trafficking, adrenochrome-guzzling, Goy-hating, power-worshiping, porno-obsessed, Epstein Island-visiting Jet Set———
apart from poor, tight-lipped, former socialite Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell. She doesn’t get invited to many parties these days.
Not sure discussed before but Ghislaine is a daughter of MG’s former compatriot ..
Obviously set few decades apart.
Hm, another radical twist – is this the [ OFF RAMP ]?
seems like Bibi is almost calling it victory for now and washing his hands.. , and lots of accolades to Don’s leadership obviously ..
—
Netanyahu to Newsmax: Trump Recognized Nuke Threat From Iran Early
Christopher Ruddy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu to Newsmax: Trump Recognized Nuke Threat From Iran Early
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited President Donald Trump with quickly grasping the peril inherent in Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. [Full Story]
Netanyahu Says Iran War Is ‘Beyond Halfway Point’
Netanyahu: Hormuz Pipelines Could Be Rerouted
Brent Sadler to Newsmax: Trump, Netanyahu on Same Page in Iran
—
What a circus..
But will the Iranians stop? They want reparation for the damage USrael did to their country.
Obviously, I don’t know their intent or can’t predict.
But to a degree there was a method in action of each of the players in this conflict so far.
The Iranians seem to be focused on the doctrine of measured ( quasi ) symmetric response, so for example for one attacked of their industrial sites they seek revenge in another similarly sized on the side of their adversaries, albeit it could be from different sector ( say refinery or assembly plant revenged for a chemical plant etc ).
While the reparation – damages payout question is more like a political wish list out of say ~20x items on it.. This is more of a future negotiation tactics only, separate level if you will from the now ongoing kinetic conflict itself.
—
Lets say the Iranians have got only ~25% of their missile stockpile left ( feel good western narratives ), even at that lowish force remaining would mean gigantic carnage potential in the Gulf area to all possible key infrastructure and half a decade or more of needed repairs, or even risk of permanent abandonment, very shoddy workarounds in some cases and so on.
Now the internal Israeli situation seemed dire last few dayz as there have been issued strong warnings from the top of the mil. circles that this is clearly engaging too many fronts at once, unbearable toll on the forces. Hence that suggested Netanyahu’s turn ~around announced in Newsmax now perhaps signals the country was not far from some sort of internal apparatus mutiny or mil. takeover against him ( demanded policy course ) already.
Presumably they will stop when all bases are gone. They can be used to house all those Chinese tech coming in to repair everything (wink wink). I assume the UAE will roughed up a little bit, Bahrain and Kuwait will change hands, it needs to be seen what happens to Qatar and the Saudi Shias. Only Oman may remain the Oman we see today.
Don’t forget that the Houthis are threatening to close off the Red Sea.
we’ve been oppressing the arab peoples for a century or more—(since oil was found there)
now they have us over a barrel—(so to speak)
“I AM FORCED TO KNOW THINGS [about war in Iran] “THAT NO LONGER LET ME SLEEP”
— Italy’s Defense Minister (today)
https://x.com/RT_com/status/2038608001116873120
Finite Worlders
Like for example ?
Turkish media now reporting that Iran+ has been pummeling industrial sites, civilian grid infrastructure near Israelis npp site .. with almost no effective counter measures applied towards the incoming threat.
Supposedly it’s even captured on vid by Turkish TV crew ?
Mentioned in the opening here: https://youtu.be/C5cr7JwN8xs
PS hm, so that’s likely why Don’s is freaking out lately, because it is apparently another giant step closer near desperate situation..
Like for example he sees dead people and lots of them. Many more than WW2.
Well, the issue at hand is that this is no longer about Donnie’s antics anymore, or even strategic choices and what have you. This all smells like real profound multi-dimensional DEFEAT and at minimum ( in rear view mirror by today even ) some serious damage performed to wider Gulfies infrastructure – if to be ever repaired .. in yrs time only.
In summary, brace up folks, as
the 1970s were the idle times for kiddies comparatively..
PS apparently the key factor was past and ongoing over extension via the UKR thing – weapon supply drainage and Don said it correctly long time ago: US depleted itself there needlessly..
panic rant over..
Big-time 180 from the Returnique over the last, what, 5 days? Props dawg! I like flexible people. People able to suck it up and change for the better.
That’s said, it’s not DEFEAT. It’s the BNS into the coup into the Global Peace Accords. Huh davidina and lateStarter?
Frankly, the recent developments focused one to re-evaluate various BNS like scenarios – validity. I’ve never dismissed it per se only assigned ~lower priority. If you re-call we used to debate few yrs ago the curious push for de-laboration of thousands of missile tips in past two decades for npp fuel, which had to be top-bottom nudged and organized, and frankly DID not make ( primarily ) that much fin sense.. vs fresh mined stuff..
It’s possible that structural pull, well vaccum extraordinaire if you will of the industrial strength of CHN+ vs RoW has reached NOWish such a level THEY ALL – meaning respective elites have to find some modus vivendi.
Yes, perhaps Defeat is not the best term, perhaps more fitting towards only some of the lesser players they have to accommodate – pay out / calm down somehow as well.
Appreciate that one. I know you hadn’t dismissed it.
And yeah, totally agree: the globalized growth phase MPP that caused such an imbalance of productive capacity for everyone, internally, begets a structural modus vivendi on the way down or no one survives the financial collapse, especially in the nuclear age. It’s just that right now it looks like the opposite of that. Which is at least partly why some people think I’m insane. But so did the outcome of the plandemic end up being the opposite of what everyone expected in the plandemic’s prime. Statecraft.
That was a great point about the narratives’ inner meaning and their eventually different than expected outcome.
Well, I’m to this day of the opinion these bug years opening this very decade were not only formative instrument ( also chiefly to soften up desired war fronts ) but they UP TO some point really meant / pursued that depop angle very seriously. Perhaps for some [ nature not cooperating ] reason they had to call it off eventually as it fizzled out of strength-potential ( they hoped for ) on its own.. etc.
In simplistic form as someone suggested back then, you can NOT expect from someone unable to produce stable operating system for decades to suddenly venture into successfully bio-engineering a really potent wide-global depop agent..
I hear you on the depop thing. I just don’t see it that way because I always said back then that the plandemic was just the first stage of triangulating the post-coup (though the coup didn’t materialize for me until maybe six months ago here at OFW) post- big Nuclear Scare engineered national socialisms. The plandemic for me was for first-stage destroying neoliberalism and replacing it with transitional nationalist capitalism (MAGA) and bringing the national socialists into that transitional fold (MAHA) in order to elevate MAHA to the national stage ahead of the final triangulation to America First left-libertarian conservative national socialism.
Interactive Real-world Global Choreography (IRGC)
“If the Omicron variant is viewed as a “natural vaccine” and a strategic exit from the pandemic, a comparable “peace accord” for a conflict like the Iran war—framed as a degrowth and restructuring experiment—might be called the “Entropy Agreement.”
Analogies for a “Degrowth” Peace
In this framework, the goal is not a return to the status quo, but a managed “cooling” of the global system.
The “Attenuated Conflict” Analogy: Just as Omicron was a “less lethal” but highly transmissible version of the virus, the peace accord would be an “attenuated” version of the war. It allows the “energy” of the conflict to spread through diplomacy and economic restructuring without the “lethality” of total kinetic warfare.
The “Economic Immunization” Model: The accord serves as a “booster shot” for the world economy, deliberately inducing a state of degrowth to build “immunity” against resource exhaustion and energy crises.
The “Home Front” Restructuring: Similar to how pandemic lockdowns created a “literal home front” that prioritized infrastructure over profit, the peace accord would institutionalize these shifts as a permanent “New Normal”.
Suggested Names for the Accord..
These names reflect a collectivist effort to transition from high-growth competition to a restructured, lower-energy global state:
The Kinetic Ceiling: A name implying a deliberate limit on military and economic expansion to achieve degrowth goals.
The Great Deceleration: Drawing on “The Great Reset” terminology, this emphasizes the “slowing down” of the global engine as a shared objective.
The Equilibrium Protocols: Suggests a move toward a steady-state economy where resources are managed collectively rather than fought over.
The Hormuz Stabilization Pact: A localized name that references the strategic Strait of Hormuz but frames its management as a global resource utility rather than a military chokepoint.
Shared Goals:
Pandemic vs. War
In this experimental view, both events serve as “stress tests” for new technologies and social controls:
Vaccine Tech vs. Energy Tech: The pandemic tested mRNA and rapid-response infrastructure; the war experiment tests the global shift from fossil fuels to a more controlled energy grid.
Collectivist Discipline: Both require “massive collective action” and public sacrifice. The peace accord would be the final “test” of whether the population will accept permanent degrowth as the price of ending the “emergency”.
___
The Analogy: “The Civil Mobilization”
Instead of a “military-industrial complex,” this creates a “Social-Ecological Complex.” The “Omicron” of the Iran war would be a controlled, low-intensity stalemate that justifies permanent rationing, localized production, and the elevation of “duty to the collective” over individual market choice.
How the “Home Front” Functions
In this model, the “National Socialism” element focuses on:
Labor Over Capital: Prioritizing full employment in “green” or “restructuring” sectors over stock market growth.
Resource Patriotism: Framing the use of less energy or fewer goods as a patriotic act of “national defense” against global instability.
The New Guilds: Replacing corporate structures with state-sanctioned trade or community organizations that manage the “degrowth” at a granular level.
The “Omicron” Connection
Just as Omicron provided a “milder” path to immunity, this type of peace accord provides a “milder” path to a command economy. It avoids the total collapse of a lost war but uses the threat of war to keep the population mobilized and compliant with the new, leaner economic reality.”
Bonus Content..
“The Iran ‘conflict’ is just a high-octane IRGC (Institutionalized Rationing & Growth Control) exercise to finalize the global energy cap. If it feels like ‘cringe,’ it means your high-growth mindset is finally rejecting the old reality… and you might just be a guest in your own house; your subconscious already recognizes the restructuring, even while your intellect recoils.”
The video sounds like the Israel situation is pretty terrible.
It’s worse than that. Crosetto owes his career to carrying water for the globalists. He lives in fear of the career ending.
Amid Iran War, Center Allows Kerosene Sale At Select Petrol Pumps For 60 Days. At the core of the notification is a relaxation of petroleum storage and licensing rules to enable faster, last-mile delivery of kerosene for cooking.
No LPG.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amid-iran-war-centre-allows-kerosene-sale-select-petrol-pumps-60-days-lpg-11284547
Indian people do need a way to cook!
the world has lost it’s “Swing Producer” . This is exactly what happened in 2005 when conventional peaked and price skyrocketed (because no swing producer) and crashed the economy.
Looks like history repeating itself.
Yup, Iran is definitely running out of missiles. Let’s hope Iran either gets bored or runs out of targets.
the gayhating womenoppressing IslamicRetardedGuard surely does have more missssiles left.
retardedTrump vs IslamicRetardedGuard
USevilEmpire vs IRGC
what is the gayhating womenoppressing IRGC doing today?
surely they have a few more missssiles left.
LOL, try harder!
Yesterday, the Kuwaiti desalination plant was heavily damaged, AWACS plane destroyed, 6 out of 7 highly expensive THAAD radar systems destroyed and Israel continues to get pounded even today. Al Jazeera has shown some of the footage.
Maybe in a month or year or decade Iran will run out of missiles.
I wrote that the gayhating womenoppressing IslamicRetardedGuard surely does have more missssiles left.
they surely will use them daily but at a reduced rate.
Trump is doing China a massive favour by joining Israel in the unnecessary, unprovoked, and illegal war against Iran. Trump and MAGA have got the USA into an incredible debacle.
A serious state is support to pursue its own strategic interests, but MAGA is reduced to tomfoolery and horseplay on the world stage because they are controlled by the Israel lobby. Trump is clueless.
The war against Iran goes way beyond a military fiasco toward strategic failure, and it is hard to see what the USA can do to get its act together while it is dominated by Israel. This is an incredible shambles.
https://www.ft.com/content/47edd17c-366f-42e4-b0cf-c20e065210d2
> The Iran war will cement China’s superpower status
Beijing’s industrial prowess positions it for economic and diplomatic gains
As the world’s biggest oil importer, the Iran war poses a significant threat to China. But Beijing has been preparing for a crisis like this for years and is well positioned to turn the conflict into an advantage in the race for global economic supremacy.
Last year, China imported about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East. But it has aggressively built up strategic stockpiles of fossil fuels. China is estimated to hold the world’s largest emergency reserves of petroleum, totalling 1.3bn barrels.
Even so, Iran has said vessels linked to “non-hostile” partners — which includes Beijing — can traverse the Strait of Hormuz. Almost half of China’s imported gas is piped from Russia and Turkmenistan on long-term contracts. Moreover, the Chinese Communist Party has already leveraged its centralised power to restrict exports from the country’s refineries, and could use it to hold down prices and pivot to alternative energy sources too.
Besides, China has made significant investments in electrification. Electricity accounts for 30 per cent of the country’s energy consumption, about 50 per cent higher than the US or Europe, making it more insulated from rising global oil prices. (With its rapid solar and wind build-out, it already accounts for roughly one-third of renewable energy generation capacity worldwide.)
A diverse energy mix, multiple suppliers and access to routes that bypass the Gulf mean only about 6 per cent of China’s total energy consumption is directly exposed to disruptions in the strait, estimates Goldman Sachs.
In sum, China could weather a conflict that lasts for several more months, while greater protection from global energy prices will make its exporters more competitive.
Beijing’s bet on cleantech and end-to-end industrial independence means it can make lasting economic and diplomatic gains from the war, too.
First, the conflict has underscored the importance of reducing reliance on hydrocarbon imports. Chinese firms account for at least 70 per cent of global manufacturing capacity for major green technologies, including solar, battery and electric vehicle components. The country also dominates the extraction and refining of the rare-earth elements that go into them.
Reflecting this, investors have rushed into the country’s green energy stocks in anticipation of rising global demand for renewables. China’s top battery makers have gained more than $70bn in market capitalisation since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Next, with nations relying on resources via the Middle East, China can position itself as a supplier of last resort given its stockpile of fossil fuels and industry-critical materials. It is also a net exporter of refined petroleum. (Taiwan, for instance, has already rebuffed Beijing’s offer of energy support.)
China is the world’s second-largest exporter of fertiliser. Though it has restricted exports to bolster domestic security, it could act as a buffer to nations facing agricultural distress. It also has strategic reserves of sulphur, a key element in plant feed and metal processing, which is widely sourced via the strait.
Likewise, the country has made progress in reducing its dependence on helium imports, with the recent discovery of a large domestic reserve and reported breakthroughs in purification. As outlined in last week’s edition, supplies of the chemical from Qatar are vital in Asia’s chip industry. (I spoke to CNN and The Tech Report about this.)
A lengthy war could also give Beijing leverage ahead of a proposed meeting in May between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, notes Agathe Demarais, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Many of the missiles, fighter jets and other weapons that America needs for its war effort run on Chinese-made rare earths. But the US has only about two months of stocks,” she said.
China’s strong relations with Gulf nations and its record in developing infrastructure mean its companies are in pole position to rebuild the region after the war, added Demarais. “They can provide finance and the materials to revive ports, energy facilities and desalination plants.”
Beijing’s efforts to raise the renminbi’s global standing might get a boost from the war as well. A shift away from dollar-denominated oil towards domestic energy and Chinese green tech will play a part. Iran is also reportedly negotiating with some nations to permit the passage of ships, provided payments are made in yuan.
“The conflict could be the catalyst for an erosion in petrodollar dominance and the beginnings of the ‘petroyuan’,” argues Deutsche Bank strategist Mallika Sachdeva. In other words, Trump’s war could normalise non-dollar energy sales.
Finally, the conflict boosts China’s image as a more stable partner relative to the US across the developed and developing world. Just last week Chinese premier Li Qiang convened more than 70 global chief executives at the China Development Forum to tout the country’s reliability and supply chains. China’s favourability compared to the US is indeed rising, exclusive survey data from Morning Consult shows.
China’s economy won’t emerge unscathed. As the war goes on, the country will face rising costs, tighter supplies and the risk of further rationing. In a prolonged conflict scenario, a deep global recession would hurt demand for its exports. Foreign partners will also remain wary of trade imbalances and becoming too dependent on the nation.
But those expecting the war to undermine China’s superpower status — a view common among Maga types — are badly mistaken. Beijing’s long-termism, diversification and nimbleness make the country uniquely resilient, and well positioned to exploit new openings.
Asia/China/Russia will probably retain IC longer than the rest of the world.
probably well into the 2nd half of this century.
I think that there will be at least two centers of influence. One will be China. The other will be the US. They will be more separated since there is not fuel to keep sending things back and forth across the oceans.
that makes sense.
Hilarious. The FT making like Pepe Escobar and MOA in a three-piece suit. Ye old bait and switch. That’s why Pepe and MOA et al were always controlled opposition. Of course it’s just a cynical, last-minute cooptation in order to make it seem like civilization is just in the midst of another garden variety imperial transition.
“Faster than you thought, huh?”
Once you got the Greatness Bug, reading between the lines becomes second nature.
https://youtube.com/shorts/vqZP8M-EK6Q?si=_sAjUmw5DAqrqSyX
You responded: When it comes to Collapse IRL, lateStarter, being able to see things before they happen is the greatest skill a person can have for keeping themselves and the people they love out of dangerous situations.
It’s not uncommon for haters to hate on high achievers. And it’s not uncommon for high achievers to ride low achievers because 95pc of high achievement is nothing more than maintaining good habits under Free Will. Welcome to the primate world.
My response: you are not a high achiever. Your contributions (as Davidina mentioned) border on insanity. I know you are fairly well educated or at least have read a lot about various matters, but your overly pedantic posts seem to have gotten you banned from every collapse related site except here.
Take a deep breath and go outside for a long walk.
Most of my comments are written outside while in the midst of working. I don’t take walks for recreational purposes.
You’ve made a couple claims about me here without providing any argumentation. No surprise. If I am in fact not a high achieving thinker as you claim then it is your responsibility to point out my poor thinking wherever it occurs rather than stake that claim without thinking that you have to defend that territory.
My being banned at many places may or may well have had to do with my strong personality, at least in part, but it’s also had much to do with the subversive nature of the content of my ideas that you are claiming are of poor quality.
So now is your opportunity to take responsibility for your claims like a real man. I’m not holding my breath because I know that you don’t really want to go toe to toe with me on critical thinking. I’ve been around the block more times than you can imagine. But I hope you man up and do. It doesn’t mean you have to reply to me here, or about something I’ve recently said. You can also just stick to my ass like white on rice and wait on some low grade stuff. I welcome pedantry because the devil is in the details.
And if you think greatness — and the striving for it — isn’t important, then you ain’t gonna make it too far down this road we’re all on.
Reante old boy I often hear about the “Hand” , did you get the expression from a Sherlock Holmes film where Sherlock referred to the “Hand” as a shadowy group that were trying to control or manipulate world events for ulterior motives .
You sure do often hear about it. No I never watched any Sherlock Holmes but I’m super stoked to know that that’s where the term must have originally come from, presumably. Thanks. I just got it from the Hidden Hand phrase which has circulated around the net for ages. One commenter even turned up for a brief spell somewhere years ago, forget where, using that handle for awhile, who I liked and had a bit of an aura around him. It’s a good term, and good for wordplay.
I’ve never heard of Sherlock Holmes refer to “The Hand” as a shadowy group, but I shall look out for that.
The original stories have no mention of The Hand, but there have been so many spinoffs. There’s even been one in which Sherlock’s father Morland Holmes becomes a leader of Moriarty’s criminal organization.
However, “the hand” appears in a different context near the end of “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”, when Inspector Lestrade reveals the high regard in which Holmes is now held by Scotland Yard, declaring: “We’re not jealous of you at Scotland Yard. No, sir, we are very proud of you, and if you come down to-morrow, there’s not a man, from the oldest inspector to the youngest constable, who wouldn’t be glad to shake you by the hand.”
Tim, perhaps in many countries / societies these literary works have been soaked by recent 2-3generations only in visual form on TV and such..
Hence the liberal script additions / changes applied to it by talents who used to write ad slogans about tomato sauce before..
/high horse off
PS although the ~1970-80s TV productions were comparatively decent effort..
Some people want to fit in, rather than achieve greatness.
I believe that one saying in China is, “The nail that sticks up gets pounded down.”
As Lt Col Daniel Davis points out, Israel is running low on missile interceptors, while Iran is not. They anticipated this as they knew most of those interceptors found there way into Ukraine.
Good grief:
Donald Trump tweeted:
The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran. Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched.” This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year “Reign of Terror.” Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
It’s going to be hard to negotiate, when the Iranians have refused all talks, but if he wants talks, here’s what he has to do first
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed Monday that any decision to end the ongoing aggression will be made strictly in accordance with Iran’s stated conditions and within a framework that guarantees the security and interests of the Iranian people.”
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pezeshkian–any-decision-to-end-war-will-reflect-iran-s-cond
“This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed”
Iran’s numbers would appear to be true then. Am I the only one, not surprised in the slightest?
He concluded his remarks by declaring that ‘Iran stands tall today, shining like a radiant jewel on the world stage, inspiring all those who seek freedom.'”
Is that how you see Iran, David?
Yes, that segment ~10:50s is brutal..
Such de-masking of policy usually in history means the threshold boundary is UP ! This CAN’T be walked back anymore or resuscitated, irrespective how protracted the whole affair ( and global ricocheting ) could be in say months and yrs time eventually.
Even if it somehow luckily flips into mellow parody and ineffectual outcome on the ground, this is the moment where even middle ranked powers tell themselves, we are out of it, even the fake veneer of ” leadership ” is lost now.
Total distrust ensues.
Ravi, true?
https://x.com/jacksonhinklle/status/2038556850791088601
Yes . The problem is India needs 4 tankers per day and NOT 2 tankers a month .
If you want to keep USrael at a distance, you acquire nuclear bombs. North Korea doesn’t have anyone harassing them.
So….Wink..wink, Iran promises to think about whether or not to build a bomb.
“Iranian MPs push to quit nuclear treaty as Trump claims ‘regime change’ win. Tehran’s participation in the 1968 accord became pointless after the US-Israeli attack, a high-ranking lawmaker has said
Tehran is “not seeking to develop a nuclear bomb, but we cannot simultaneously adhere to the rules of the game and be bombed,” he said.”
https://www.rt.com/news/636682-iran-us-israel-war-latest/
Title says:
Iranian MPs push to quit nuclear treaty as Trump claims ‘regime change’
Tehran’s participation in the 1968 accord became pointless after the US-Israeli attack, a high-ranking lawmaker has said
If Israel doesn’t play by the rules, Iran needs to be able to retaliate. Israel is not a member.
Slovakia: high housing prices, high energy prices, high food prices
https://ekonomika.pravda.sk/ludia/clanok/795289-az-tretina-slovakov-zije-stiesnene-v-malych-bytoch-s-privela-ludmi-vo-vlastnom-vsak-byvaju-ako-malokto-v-europe/?utm_source=pravda&utm_medium=hp-box&utm_campaign=shp_bleskove_spravy
There is no way to go…
One of the prices is fake. Guess which one of these 3?
Well, on the energy front, the case has been clear from the previous instance few months ago, when they joined effort as landlocked countries w. Hungary about pushing EU for re-opening of that RU sourced ( through UKR ) pipeline..
The other ~landlocked regions ala Bavaria, Austria, Czech, and Poland ( from other ports in ~Baltics ) are pipeline hooked to that Adriatic facility hence able to offload incoming tankers from Caspian ( routed through Bosporus not Hormuz or Suez ) or globally from whatever source via Gibraltar.
So, the key factor why Slovakia is here at disadvantage continues..
Perhaps for capacity reason they can’t joint even this ~short distance via Austria quickly, and another hypothetical connector northbound to PL / Baltics would be too long – costly.
Fico ( your PM ) is apparently trolling ( EU ) honchos in great style !
” .. lovers at first sight exchanging glances .. tral-la-la .. da da dee da.. ”
Just called Ursula’s above peculiar lover’s affair to Wolodymyr as an anti-EU stance, since she should be first pre – occupied with all member states well being ( incl. SK ! ) in the first place.
Note: UKR still blocking HU-SK bound energy transit from RU.
Apologizing to people I did previously harshly accuse of butchering ~ISO as I DID just right now..
SVK = Slovakia
SLO = Slovenia
SK = South Korea
The tragedy of outdated ageing politicians like Fico is that they are completely confused. Fighting with others and with their own self. Accusing, disrespecting, choosing bad priorities. They succeeded in better times and they are lost in worse times.
I guess you meant it more in the sense of inward looking local politics evaluation..
But seriously, to be respectful to whom, Ursulae ?
Even the worse commie apparatchik or 3rd world compromised admin specimen was / is less corrupt, and yes even less stup%d in overall decision-making..,
although even that’s likely on different level anyway as not performing on her own lowly merit – just taking in orders ( from someone ).
Israel , Iran and the nuclear bomb . This gentleman worked at the nuclear research centre at the Pentagon . Knows his stuff . I posted an interview of his earlier . Excellent .
Iranians have the 60% enriched uranium that they need right now to make 11 atomic bombs. Enrichment from 60% to 90% is not hard. It can be done within one of Iran’s tunnels. Making a bomb is not difficult. There is no need to test the bomb. So they are close to having them built already.
Let’s keep in mind the difference between fission bomb and fusion bomb. The first is little 0.05 MT, the latter big 20. MT. I would test it before threatening the world. What you are describing is a fission bomb. Good for knocking down ten by ten blocks of a city. Not big enough to knock down the whole city.
This is from France. I believe gazoil is what Americans refer to as diesel
https://x.com/StealthQE4/status/2038387076119302185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2038387076119302185%7Ctwgr%5E771a70c43ada2036ad570bbcac314da8e985ba34%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.godlikeproductions.com%2Fforum1%2Fmessage6152919%2Fpg1
This will very quickly escalate to a major problem!
In the context this is correct. Normally gazoil refers to bunker oil, the one used in ships.
I asked a friend in France . He said Gazoil is the same as diesel . The only difference is that it has an added red tint ( color) added to it . He informs that Gazoil was ( is ) actually meant to be delivered only to the farming sector and is priced lower than diesel as a subsidy to the farming sector , but if you fill your car with it won’t make any difference to the performance of the car engine . The fine is Euro 500 if you are driving a car with Gazoil .
Perhaps the usage of the term varies by country.
Checked . It is the same in Holland , Belgium and Hungary . These are countries where I have an ear to the ground .
got it. I knew it was different from diesel but is a different difference.
Isn’t in interesting how Mr. Micro-nite traveled the world, forcing himself into the top global club at every possible venue / issue.
And now this, kind of embarrassing, hopefully this would help clear up internal FR politics even more eventually and for long time ahead..
PS perhaps we get soon enough some structural analysis – is it happening because low (or slowly released) gov’s strategic reserves, .. other sets of difficulties ( long term contracts only or too heavily biased in the Gulf – as per selling them arms ).. etc. ?
300 out of 10 000. No big deal. Still lots of vehicles on the roads here. BAU tonight in France baby!
Today Spain broke the de Villepin rule in closing its airspace to the US military. 😁
“In 2003, NATO member Turkey refused to allow American troops to use its territory to invade Iraq, though it did allow overflights. France and Germany firmly opposed that war, but allowed U.S. and British fighter jets to fly over their airspace.
France’s then foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, despite a famed U.N. speech against the Bush administration’s plans to invade, told the French parliament at the time that “there are practices between allies that exist that we must respect, including overflight rights.”
https://www.local10.com/news/world/2026/03/30/spain-says-its-airspace-is-off-limits-to-us-planes-involved-in-the-iran-war/
Different times… different methods. Will there be a campaign against Spain like they did when they called french fries “freedom fries”?
That’s indeed a great point, as the reaction so far at least in the open was almost null. Which tends to underline the true status of the current / legacy system’s demise prognosis..
PS but let’s not be naive – that ESP govs is nuts in many other areas and int policy..
Patriots
”12:55 according to the reporting that’s coming out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, is that they’re only knocking down about 5% of the rockets and missiles that are being sent by Iran. So, are they not working? ” ?
Postkey, this should be seen by everyone here. I just watched half and am taken back on the incompetence and hubris of the entire system on the American side. Revealing discussion and insightful on all aspects.
This is a panic event…
Years/decades ago I attended an event with Scott Ritter in Boston regarding the charge of Saddam Hussain Weapons of Mass Destruction and the false message. Trump and his gang are doing the same technique here with IRAN.
Scott Ritter message needs to be heard.
“I just watched half and am taken back on the incompetence and hubris of the entire system on the American side.”
Marco “Narco” Rubio says that Iran engages in state sponsored terrorism.
LMAO, I believe he got that confused with the US who created Al Qaeda and ISIS. They also funded Iraq with its 8 year war against Iran. They engaged in state sponsored terrorism to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine and funded them to kill Russians. Oh and lets not forget they once did that to Iran in 1953 until the people overthrew the US backed government in Iran in 1979.
Then there’s the Mothership of State sponsored Terrorism known as the Land of the Tiny Hats, aka Israel. The same Israel, that loves to engage in mass murder, blowing up schools with children, hospitals, nursing homes, police stations and training dogs to r.ape Palestinian prisoners.
Oh and just for added fun so word doesn’t get out on their atrocities, they murder journalists.
Thousands of Iranian demonstrators are saying, “Do not negotiate with Donald Trump.”
Yep, assumed that Scott while direction-wise always correct-ish was always bit over the top such correct %probability boundary, but it seems he was [ right all the way ] and I’m the laggard hah..
He nailed it, the undercurrent or shall we say true nature of a beast under the rug is that the [w]est is [ pleite ] now, end of story, game over.
Hence I’m adding here if the [ East ] will be accommodating us beyond the necessary basal level, as keeping some merch / tech exchange flowing, the next global re-adjustment will be brutal. Lets quantify it at the min as – [ 20-30% ] of standard living for us..
Good luck.
Hence, if you incl. those C19 yrs..
It’s cumulatively – suddenly like [ ~50% ] haircut to your living standards between late 2010s and 2020s.. And meanwhile then [ the grind ] still %%continues into 2030s ..
Aka “.. Good Job, Brownie.. ! ” again.
So, we can settle on the ~optimistic scenario, the road ahead is broadly known to us, clearly identified as the so-called way back to poverty.
”The 2026 Iran war has exposed a concentration of industrial dependency so extreme that a single geological formation, processed through equipment manufactured by five companies, shipped through one 39-kilometre strait, simultaneously powers the production of the chips in your phone, the fertiliser in the fields that feed three billion people, the aluminium in your aircraft, the gas-to-liquids fuel in military jets, the petrochemicals in every plastic object within arm’s reach, and the desalinated water that keeps 100 million Gulf residents alive. No financial model, no supply chain risk assessment, no sovereign wealth fund stress test, and no central bank scenario analysis ever connected these dependencies into a single picture. The market priced each node independently, assigning near-zero probability to simultaneous failure. On February 28, 2026, that probability resolved to one. ” ?
https://shanakaanslemperera.substack.com/p/the-last-molecule-standing?r=6p7b5o&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
This analyst knows what he is talking about.
The Last Molecule Standing
How One Reservoir, One Strait, and Five Manufacturers Became the Hidden Operating System of Seven Global Industries
The world economy depends on the output of the Middle East.
HideAway
March 28, 2026 4:25 pm
One of the scary aspect to me is how our CACTUS theory and following logical chains, not of the crisis itself, but of reactions to less fuel, fertilizer, sulphur, aluminium etc, is so predictable..
In the media today was this bit.. “Farmers worry about how the crops they sow today will be harvested next season”.
Then a story of a business… “Over in Western Australia, crop farmer David Butcher says he won’t have enough diesel to cover the upcoming seeding period.
“If we are on rations like the 3,000 litres of diesel we got 10 days ago, that will only do two days of seeding for us.
“We have around 40-45 days of seeding to get through which equates to 135,000 litres of diesel in the next six weeks.”
The rational choice by such farmers would be to not plant as much, or any at all, to save fuel for other purposes on the farm. However this only applies if people think in availability terms and not in financial terms, ie the category error..
If that farm has huge loans, then they will plant what they can, as they need the income to pay the interest and principle due to the banks, so no crop guarantees farm forfeiture anyway, so may as well take the risk of diesel being available in 6 months time. However if the farm is not under the financial stress, the alternative is small or no crop now waiting for things to settle down, or just look after our own (and all the relatives that turn up).
All so predictable in a CACTUS lens, it’s frightening..
I’ve also been looking at what different governments around the world are saying and claim to be doing. There is a consistency of approaches while the details differ. Admittance that their current supplies are constrained, but then the ‘claim’ that they are putting in measures so they can gain fuel from ‘other’ sources, so no need to panic.
So where and what are these alternative sources?? They even mention, uncontracted oil supplies from independent uncontracted sources or the international wholesale market and other such terms. All nonsense, as every other country is doing the same, and most of those sources (probably Russian oil/fuel, already likely going to China anyway).
In other words, politicians spin is already going off the charts, as they have no answers as they do not understand the problem, still thinking in the category error lens of an economic problem that can be solved with price, as in we’ll bid higher than other countries and our economy will sort itself out, instead of a sudden energy crunch that is life threatening to our civilization.
At some point in the few weeks to months, when governments get really concerned about food into cities, they will ban mining to save fuel, all mining as the food need of populations becomes paramount. They could ban gold mining right now, saving huge quantities of fuel, but they wont, they will just lump all mining in the same category, because it’s easy with so many other ‘worries’, again a category error..
Mining of the high grade Pilbara is paramount to keep the high end steel products of the world flowing. There is no chance of any recovery in the gulf, if the steel products are not made and distributed. But if over 50% of the worlds, high grade iron ore, stops flowing to the giant blast furnaces of Asia, then those countries will likely ban exports of steel products, because the other 50% of the world’s high grade iron ore comes from Brazil, and given bunker fuel shortages, quickly becoming too expensive to send to Asia, or just not enough quantity of fuel. In Brazil you need diesel to get the iron ore to the port, then the long sea voyage across the World..
If the export of high grade steel products form the Asian countries happens, because they need the high grade steel for their own economies, and see supply of iron ore totally drying up for an unknown period, all predictable and logical, from a ‘fortress’ country perspective, then existing oil fields around the world also have drops in production, as the high grade steel pipes and supports are one of those JIT commodities they are constantly using. The new wells constantly required for the fracked O&G in the USA will fairly quickly run into pipe limits..
If the existing oil production in the USA starts to decline quickly without the new drilling, which we know it will, then fairly soon the amount of Naptha used a diluent for transporting the heavy tar sand oil also has massive reductions, and eventually not enough to keep the oil flowing through pipes.
Feed back loops within feedback loops..
HideAway
Reply to
Rob Mielcarski
March 28, 2026 9:59 pm
I think I’m trying to hone in on a signal that collapse is a certainty, and the Australian Government banning all mining is possibly one of those. If they were smart enough to ban just gold mining, we might still have a chance, but iron ore mining no..
Australia’s iron ore mining uses vast quantities of jet fuel as it’s Fly In Fly Out, vast quantities of diesel, both trucks to site, on site plus the trains for hundreds of km to port, then tonnes of bunker fuel to China, South Korea and Japan..
The iron ore in China, or the USA is low grade 20%-30% and unsuitable for making the high end pure steel products. It can be made pure, but no-one is set up to do that, as it’s much more expensive and energy intensive than just using the high grade material. Besides there has always been plenty of the cheap high grade iron ore from Australia, Brazil and now Simandou in Guinea, providing there is plenty of cheap diesel, jet fuel and bunker fuel…
Many worrisome issues!
https://un-denial.com/2026/03/25/what-a-mess/comment-page-2/#comments
This sounds like a terrible situation, playing out in the Southern hemisphere now, but soon to reach the Northern hemisphere.
Yes, but the Northern hemi incl. diverse set of states-polities, which many-most incl. some very strong pro farming or even more specifically general food security mandates.
So, towards the worst scenario, [ the diesel ] question will be trimmed accross the whole system, i.e. fewer trains, commerce trucks, and personal carz operating as in cutting the ” frivolous ” spending out, while the food ( incl. distribution ) gets priority. Obviously, even such desperate programme one day runs its terminal limits..
There’s been a lot of talk since…well, I don’t know, the 1920s, about an upcoming New World Order that was international in scope…and more recently among reactionaries towards the end of the 20th century and the early 21st century.
There’s nothing new about it. It has been the status quo since the end of the first World War. Central to it, I think, has been the work of NGOs, in additional to superpowers like the British Empire or Am rica .
NGOS like this
https://newpluralists.org
The existence of NGOS is cited by various actors as proof that altruism and “progress” are true goals of the status quo.
The list of sponsors for NGOS are always interesting and I wonder what their allegiances are in in a world where the current world order is being challenged since they have been criticized by reactionaries for somehow undermining the current world order by reactionaries.
Too often the NGOs want to further their own purposes. We had Bill Gates, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, trying to influence the World Health Organization, for example.
15 mmb/d of East Asia oil flows end April 1
1.5 mmb/d of European flows end April 10
https://x.com/aeberman12/status/2038452825022231007/photo/1
The 15 million barrels per day of East Asia oil ending April 1 (Wednesday of this week) is a huge deal!
Constant mental fatigue in the complex human world
Feeling drained? Eight types of hidden work cause women to feel overwhelmed
1. Life organisation
2. Emotional support
3. Relationship hygiene
4. Magic-making
5. Dream-building
6. Individual upkeep
7. Safety
8. Meta-care
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260318-eight-types-of-mental-load-that-leave-women-drained
How to Power the World 24/7 — Without Oil | Cindy Taff | TED
https://youtu.be/Xlc_ALDWc0Q?si=akgtoPLC6VvSDpgc
Oil and gas is less and less profitable, so lets turn to geothermal.
We will have heat from Earth. But little to eat, as production, transport and preservation of the food requires energy, too.
Imagine, what the food production and consumption chain is experiencing right now.
The depleted fields under climate and energy volatality fail to deliver cheap food.
Geothermal takes a lot of metal. We likely don’t have the metal, besides not having the diesel to build the geothermal.
LNG Crisis From Bad To Worse As Storm Damage Adds Weeks To Restart Of Chevron Wheatstone Plant
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/lng-crisis-bad-worse-storm-damage-adds-weeks-restart-chevron-wheatstone-plant#comment-stream
When it rains, it pours ??
“It’s almost impossible to wrap your head around the immensity of the coming crisis. There’s basically a few weeks left of pretty much everything before the shit hits the fan in ways that will be written and talked about forever.”
https://x.com/NateB_Panic/status/2038343598161248600
Nothing will make David with many names satisfied.
well then let me maybe surprise you.
I generally agree with the above quote of NateB.
the resources on the way before March 1st via ocean transport have almost all arrived at their Asian destinations.
almost all of Asia will be drawing down their energy reserves in the coming weeks, and April will be problematic and May will be severe.
this crisis in Asia seems unavoidable at this point in time.
then a similar crisis will be unfolding in Europe a few weeks delayed after Asia.
there has been plenty of reasonable writing lately about the inevitable direction of this.
wreckingballTrump has set in motion an Asian and European crisis that also has a good chance of spreading to the USA.
there may be very few countries remaining in The Core after this crisis.
you may be sorta okay if you are in the western USA?
time will tell.
but, ahem, BAU tonight, baby!
Panic on the streets of ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMykYSQaG_c
Hi Davidinthefuture, nice clear statement, makes sense. But why the “western” part of USA?
I think k lives there?
but to be clearer, I meant that if he lives in the USA then he might be sorta okay through this global crisis, as most Americans might be okay wherever they live.
we can hope.
Damage EU and Asia but not America. Norm will have to admit Don is playing 5D chess.
David I like how you simplified everything! I think this is exactly how they explain things to Trump! Then ask him if he wants fries with his burger🤣. And then they put him to bed with a nice little story about the boy who would be king!
whoa! Iran damages a service building in Kuwait:
“Signaling further esscalation, critical infrastructure in the region has come under fire. In a social media post on Monday morning, Kuwait said a service building at a power generation and water desalination plant were damaged in an atttack Sunday evening, killling one worker.
The country said the facility was tarrgeted as part of what it described as Iranian aggrression against Kuwait. The worker killled was an Indian national, according to the power ministry.
Emergency teams were deployed immediately to contain damage and maintain operations, while authorities coordinated with security agencies to secure the site. Officials said Kuwait’s electricity and water systems remain stable and contingency plans had been activated to ensure continued supply, according to the statement.”
wow what masssive retallliation by the IslamicRepublicanGuard!!
david you’re out of your mind. If they can intentionally hit a service building then they can intentionally destroy the plant. The Doha West plant provides 90% of Kuwait’s desalinated water. 90% of Kuwait’s water supply is desalinated. There is no more nation of Kuwait if that plant is destroyed
It appears the next leg up of this kerfuffle has just occurred. Is it a false flag? RIght?
Speaking about false flags, .. , Ch.Rose almost reveals inner Sa#an in his outraged look, when J.Mearsheimer claims NYT plants key false flag leading stories on the behalf of the tribe..
Haven’t seen it all yet, but apart from above the more important seems the claim that during that previous round / spat of ” 12dayz war ” with Iran last year they had to call it off precisely because of the Hormuz strait closure factor as imminent danger then ..
https://youtu.be/zIHe9jBp_ng
I have no idea if it’s a false flag. david posting stupidly on it was the first I heard of it and I simply asked AI which plant it was and asked two follow up statistical questions on Kuwaiti desalination. It doesn’t surprise me that Iran would fire this latest warning shot if indeed it was Iran which I’m assuming it is.
As to next legs up. I don’t see next legs up. To me this is the cataclysmic Big Nuclear Scare and it’s barely getting warmed up. Escalation is baked into the cake until everyone thinks they might possibly be dead within a year.
You are maybe concentrating on the wrong part.
“service building at a power generation and water desalination plant”
There are two power stations(east and west) right beside the desalination plant and at no point is it claimed that the desalination plant was targeted.
Affecting a single power station(not far from the island the US troop build up is on), is a whole world away from cutting off 90% of water. It’s a BS claim, using mealymouthed language. If I stand behind a man that shoots a target 2m Infront of himself, did he “nearly” kill me, even though he hit his chosen target, which was never me and he never aimed the gun directly at me?
As you said, intentionally hit, which will not be the desalination plant and why was an Indian (slave)worker forced to remain when Iran gave warning?
You are splitting hairs Fitz. I called it a warning shot. The service building/ power station helps power the desalination plant. No power, no desalination. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Your shooting analogy is atrocious. Kuwait got shot in the ear.
I’m wondering if you are responding this way because you are attached to the idea that Iran would never choose to destroy a desalination plant.
Thanks for the info that Iran gave warning. That contradicts the report that Iran called it a false flag by Israel, which is what JK was presumably referring to in his reply to me last night. I gather that you’re aware of the contradiction and have reason to believe that Iran did it.
I was only commenting on what David quoted. I haven’t read anything about it and so hadn’t heard that Iran deny any involvement. My comment on warning was purely because that is standard practice for Iran whenever civilians could be hurt. As far as the Trumps are concerned, I was referring to where the power for Bubiyan island possibly came from, which might not be the same one that powers the desalination plant(east and west power plants remember).
I hear the 🍊 pedo is losing it over Lego
The Trumps should, Come Closer
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aqGNxlyRXBE
Look, if you want to suggest that the warning shot was also intended for US troops nearby then, great.But to say it had nothing to do with the desalination plant is absurd. If they just want to fire a warning shot at US troops on an island then they can just fire into the water next to the island.
Sorry then Fitz, I beg your pardon for the misunderstanding.
I see, regarding what you meant about Iran customarily giving warning. And what you mean about the power station potentially powering the island they’re mobilizing on. Since the IRGC has officially denied it, and if I am to believe that — which I’m somewhat inclined to for whatever that’s worth lol — the my money is on the Hand and not an Israeli false flag, especially if there’s no further inquiry by anybody into the nuts and bolts of that Israeli false flag. But that’s just me. Positrons love steel gas and oil receptacles which is what Doha West power station runs on. But that’s just me leaning into the Hand leave-no-trace goosing things along on the side of the underdog as necessary. But maybe it’s Israel or the US but they’d have to be real careful about it in a world without the Hand, I know that much.
No worries, I didn’t make that clear.
” my money is on the Hand and not an Israeli false flag, especially if there’s no further inquiry by anybody into the nuts and bolts of that Israeli false flag”
There’s never an inquiry regarding their actions, so there won’t be now.
Positrons may love steel receptacles with gas and oil in them but fuel receptacles weren’t hit, reante.
But the Beam likes anything steel and anything else with lots of free electrons, and can even strip bound electrons for annihilation. And the Hand being the top dog with the one ring has other inside means various and sundry besides, because the Non-Public Degrowth Agenda is non-negotiable, whereas Israel probably not so much in the way of means.
Just cleaning that last one up.
On the BNS / panic escalator ladder as per msm and general public effect – this will have to continue to spiral up some more..
Weeks, likely months to reaching desired threshold effects / impact zone.
Hence, what are the key [ panic ] vectors you anticipate in this regard? Obviously, it will be to large extent regionally dependent.
NG as per heating for next season will have to be superseded by way more pressing action, let say the net-cable thing or rapid emptiness in the food alley shopping as per various regions etc.
In simplistic terms one could perhaps expect that the most affordable compact e-mobility will be unobtanium very shortly: say chiefly
those foldable ebikes you are allowed take onboard of a bus or subway train, these start at one grand.. one could assume NOT that much pre-stocked volume outside CHN.
Similarly, people could go suddenly crazy for some contraptions like basic 24-48VDC solar setups ( lots of indiv gadgets in-there ) etc.
Addon water puri-filters, ..
I guess my vector is in each ( regional prioritized concern ) case possibility of empty distributor’s warehouses ( very early / fast ).
It is good to hear this thinking because that is how the u.s got in this war in the first place. And it is how they will get more entrenched
Stanislav isn’t a BS artist.
Hm, the commentariat under this Al-Jazeera Eng segment on MAGA / Iran is interesting, ~laymen people aka as in plural now start questioning the petrodollar viability hard..
Perhaps, we are in the final stretch now, tops +5-15yrs only ( OR LESS) and then we are in completely different galaxy for ever..
Time flies so fast I used to be a kid – now I’m transitioning ~senior-ity.
My granddad born jut end of 19th century ( whom I knew) fought Adolf..
If you tell this today someone youngish – it’s like Viking saga material or older..
https://youtu.be/igxhDWkVF5U
“Perhaps, we are in the final stretch now, tops +5-15yrs only ( OR LESS) and then we are in completely different galaxy for ever…”
I agree with “perhaps”.
“Time flies so fast I used to be a kid – now I’m transitioning ~senior-ity”
I can relate.
https://sonar21.com/a-baron-of-lies-turns-the-world-upside-down-and-loses/
“A Baron of Lies Turns the World Upside Down—and Loses”
Excerpt: Donald Trump is not only endangering the world with his megalomania and greed, but will likely go down in history as a baron of lies. What is the real situation, given that the Western media actually believe Trump’s nonsense?
The fact that this propaganda cannot be true is also evident from the fact that the claims are becoming increasingly fantastical—even the famous Baron Münchhausen would blush.
Well, family lineage uber alles :
as certain Annabelle Drumpft in the 17th century was great grand mother to baron von Münchhausen. My predecessors were grand-suppliers of fine poultry meat to the house of von M. and the stories about their cons vis a vis their biz environment I can tell you are simply un-believable ..
Green Death. Kratom has taken over Czech schools; seventeen people died just last year
Kratom has flooded Czech schools. As many as a quarter of students have tried it, and cases of addiction, collapses, and ambulance calls are not uncommon.
Last year, it was a contributing factor in 17 deaths. Young people use it to boost energy, improve sleep, or as a stress and anxiety reliever.
Detection is difficult. Use usually results in only a reprimand; expulsion is complicated for schools.
https://hnonline.sk/svet/96272751-zelena-smrt-kratom-ovladol-ceske-skoly-len-minuly-rok-zomrelo-sedemnast-ludi